We want to re-think the way we make things and how we treat the world around us…

From material waste to ressource abundance

Todays linear approach to using resources and materials is creating problems for both businesses, people and our planet.

We established Global Material & Asset Fond to take responsibility and to contribute to a world, where materials are used in a way that won’t harm humans or the ecosystem. We wanted to help secure global material sourcing.

Disrupting linear thinking  

Looking into the challenge, we became convinced that we had to rethink the conventional value chain. A chain, where everyone typically just “talks” with the chain link behind and in front of oneself. If we place ourself as links in a circular chain, we can see all the other links in the chain, communicate about our activities, and thus work together much better.

This might seem simple enough – but unfortunately, it is not always easy to make great new materials and products from ‘waste’, meaning it is not easy to turn a linear value chain into a circular one. One of the main barriers for recycling materials is that we rarely know the exact composition of the recycled materials. All products and many services – amongst them IT, telecommunications and the Internet – are based on physics. The products we use are all based on materials, meaning that they typically have a physical form and are made of chemical building blocks of natural or artificial origin.

These building blocks can be combined in many different ways, and the resulting materials have many different characteristics. Think, for example, of different types of plastics – some types are very sturdy, others are soft; some can last for many years, others begin to disintegrate after a short time. This means that you want to know exactly what type (or what mix of different types) of plastic you’re dealing with when making your product. This information is rarely available when you are using ‘waste’ products. And even when your supplier can give you this information – how can you be sure? And so, how can you be sure of the quality of your product when using this material?

How, then, can we transform products and services so that they can be reused safely – preferably at the same time incorporating the newly agreed Sustainable Development Goals (the UN’s Global Goals or SDGs) into that circular mindset?

Ensuring traceability and ownership 

Aiming to ensure that materials are used in products in such a way that they can be reused, and that they won’t harm humans or the ecosystem, we began to investigate how materials are used and what happens to the materials after the products, which they were a part of, end their ‘useful lives’. Here, we found the solution when we discovered how to mark nearly all materials in their physical form. Through these markings, the materials can be identified at all stages in the value chain, including when the products become ‘waste’ and, moreover, even ownership can be proved. This practically means that once a material has been marked, we can later identify that exact material and thus be sure of its composition and quality. As a result, we now have a method for tracking and circulating materials as they flow through the value-chain. Allowing us to keeping their material value intact.

Based on this solution, new and truly circular business models can be created, and valuable materials don’t have to be wasted anymore. The scarcity of materials and resources, caused by the global growth of the human population and aggravated, in particular, by the demand of the growing middleclass, can thus be resolved.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions

What does the foundation do?

Global Material & Asset Fond aims to provide stewardship towards materials that are healthy and supports a circular approach.

What does the fund raise capital for?

Global Material & Asset Fond are investing in healthy materials circulating in products to improve resource security.

What makes Global Material & Asset Fond unique?

As a fund we have a unique position as neutral servant for the manufacturing environment, using a unique model for stewarship and materials and circulation

What is the long term goal of the fund?

Global Material & Asset Fond will offer material services globally in a broad partnership to fully support the UN SDGs.